Thousands take to the streets of Seattle for the 14th Annual May Day March for Workers and Immigrant Rights.

Participants voiced the need for a livable wage for all workers and a cease to indiscriminate deportations that tear families apart.

SEATTLE – An estimated 7 to 10,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Seattle to participate in the 14th Annual May Day March for Workers and Immigrant Right. The events began at Judkins Park at 2:00 p.m., with a brief program that included music, speeches, and logistical announcements for the march. Participants then filed westbound, on Lane Street to start the March at 3:00 pm. At around 3:30, the march departed from St. Mary’s Church, with Danza Ce Atl Tonalli, setting the tone.

Despite a detour from the regular march path of years past, due to construction on the western portion of Jackson Street, the march still drew a larger attendance than last year. The march swelled, with contingents of groups joining along the way on Jackson Street and 20th Avenue, along Boren Avenue, as well as on several street corners along First Hill, and Downtown Seattle. Included among these groups, were contingents for organized labor and for a coalition of activist youth groups from the Seattle area.

The march concluded at Westlake Park, as thousands streamed in from 4th Avenue. Dr. Reverend Leslie D. Braxton addressed the crowd, speaking on the need to join as a larger social justice community. “We have the power, and the tools to work for what is right! When we join our immigrant brothers and sisters. When we join our brothers and sisters in labor. When we join our brothers and sisters struggling for a dignified wage. When we join our brothers and sisters in the Black community. In the Latino Community. In the Native community. In the Asian community. We will see a better, more just society.”

Councilmember Kshama Sawant also offered remarks on the struggle for worker justice. “It is your presence, your continued push, that has forced the city to acknowledge the need for a livable minimum wage. You made a profound statement. That we are not playing around, we are not playing around with peoples’ lives. Workers deserve more, and we say no, to deduction in wages for tips, and we say no to deducting health care from workers’ hourly wage. We don’t have time to wait while many workers live in poverty.”

Other speakers at the rally also addressed larger regional issues, with updates on the ongoing campaign by immigrants that are detained at the Northwest Detention Center. One speaker detailed the conditions in the Tacoma-based center, which include inadequate medical care, poor nutrition that is provided, unreasonable charges for communicating with family via telephone, and mistreatment and neglect by center staff in general. These grievances were what lead to a hunger strike in late February. The campaign for better conditions is ongoing.

There was also a call to continue the Boycott of Sakuma Farms products by members of the organization Familias Unidas por la Justicia in Skagit County. Workers have been in a labor dispute over work conditions and wage theft over the last year. They will hold a march for Farmworker Dignity on Sunday, May 4th in Bellingham.

The rally was also aided by the musical duo, Latin Rose and Jack Mozie, who performed at the beginning and conclusion of the event. Jack noted, “I’ve been fighting for Social Justice since the marriage equality campaign with Social Outreach Seattle. Together we worked on a music video for an immigration anthem I wrote that calls for comprehensive immigration reform that is inclusive of the LGBT community.”

“This for me was such an honor and privilege that I cried when Juan Bocanegra called me and asked if I could sing for May Day,” said Ruth Alfaro, who goes by the stage name, Latin Rose. “When I saw all my people marching and chanting for the same cause… It made my soul sing! When I started singing the song that I made for the Latin and LGBTQ community called Vive La Vida I got such a rush, this moment is what I was born for!…No more deportations, no more discrimination, freedom and justice for all!

Thousands expected to take to the streets of Seattle for 14th Annual May Day March for Immigrant and Workers Rights.

SEATTLE – Thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets of Seattle on Thursday, May 1, 2014 for the 14th Annual May Day March for Workers and Immigrant Rights. In the spirit of unity and solidarity with communities across the country, organizers in Seattle will focus on a universal theme: standing together with all workers regardless of race, class, gender, religious affiliation, sexual identity, ability, and documented status. Event details are as follows:

What: 14th Annual May Day March and Rally for Workers and Immigrant Rights

Who: Thousands of workers and immigrant rights supporters. We’ll hear testimonials from community members, and will be joined by allies from the labor, social justice, and faith based communities.

When: Thursday May 1st, 2014. The march will depart from the starting point at 3:00 p.m.

Where: The march will begin at St. Mary’s Church (611 20th Ave South, Seattle, WA 98144) and will end with a rally at Westlake Park.

Background

The theme of the 2014 march will center on justice for all workers and a community-based framework for dialogue on Workers and Immigrants Rights. Politicians of both stripes, through inaction and neglect, have been complicit in the use of enforcement-heavy tactics such as dragnet raids, racial profiling of immigrants, and the use of discriminatory employee verification programs. Recent legislation introduced (e.g. SB 744) has only attempted to further codify enforcement-first policies, while leaving humanitarian concerns discarded by the wayside. As a community, we are demanding an executive order to cease all deportation of non-violent detainees, and grant an expansion of deferred action to all community members, while adequate legislation is pending. We will continue to organize at the grassroots level to ensure that families are not forcibly separated and to ensure that our communities are able to live and work without fear and deprivation of basic human rights.

Immigrant Rights Activists Will Hold A Rally for a Just Immigration Reform at Westlake Park on Monday September 2nd, 2013.

SEATTLE – El Comité Pro Reforma Migratoria Y Justicia Social will hold a rally at Westlake Park, on Monday September 2nd, 2013. The purpose of the rally is to draw attention to the plight of the immigrant community in wake of the passage of Senate Bill 744 in the U.S. Senate. Details for the event are below:

WHO: El Comité Pro Reforma Migratoria Y Justicia Social.

WHAT: Labor Day Rally for a Humane and Just Immigration Reform.

WHERE: Westlake Park (400 Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98101)

WHEN: Monday September 2nd, 2013, 11:00 am-1:00 pm.

Background

SB 744, which is currently stalling in the U.S. House of Representatives, is legislation that will benefit only a select portion of the estimated 11 Million undocumented residents in the United States, while simultaneously pumping more capital into an already bloated Border Enforcement Mechanism. The 13 year process, which makes documentation hinge on the ability to maintain continuous employment, places many immigrants in a tenuous position where they are at their employer’s will, making for an atmosphere that can lead to workplace abuses. The clear winner in this proposal are the Arms and Private Detention Center Industries which benefits from unprecedented spending allocated toward policing the border and detaining undocumented immigrants. We join our peers in the southern borderlands in opposing this proposal. The bill is short-sighted, lacks protections for immigrant workers, and further works at corroding the fabric of our communities. As workers who are essential to the U.S. economy we deserve better! We will continue to voice our concerns and push for a just immigration reform that respects the human, civil and labor rights of all.